How to Make Nut Flour

Nut flours are high in protein, low in carbohydrates and gluten-free. Added to recipes or used to dredge meat, poultry or fish before cooking, nut flour increases the nutritional value of the dish while contributing a delicious nutty flavor. Commercial nut flours, made from the remainder of nuts pressed for their oils, are drier than those you can grind yourself from whole nuts. It is not difficult to make nut flour at home, providing you have a food processor or coffee grinder. If a recipe calls for nut meal, just grind the nuts a bit less, allowing for larger nut particles in the final product.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Pour frozen nuts (do not thaw first) in small batches into your food processor, grinder, or blender, and process in pulses until the nuts are rendered into a relatively fine powder.

2. Check the flour after a second or two, stirring frequently. Because of the nuts' high oil content, nuts tend to form nut butter. The transition from nut to meal to flour to butter is rapid, so work in short bursts, checking often.

3. Due to the high fat and protein content of flour made with nuts, it will spoil rapidly at room temperature. Store nut flours and meals in an air-tight container in the freezer. No need to thaw before using.

Tips & Warnings

• For best results, add a small amount of wheat or gluten-free (not nut) flour to the nuts as you grind them to discourage them from turning to butter. The flour helps to keep the nuts light and powdery.
• If desired, you can toast the nuts prior to grinding to enhance their flavor.
• Exchange up to a quarter of the all-purpose flour called for in a recipe with nut flour.